Senator Danladi Sankara, recently returned to the country from Perth, Australia, alongside President Goodluck Jonathan,who led members of the delegation to the just concluded 10-day Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting. Sankara, acknowledged during the meeting that President Goodluck Jonathan gave a good account of himself, particularly for his vision in establishing Nigeria Trade and Investment Council. The Senator, who is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources in this interview, he told TED ODOGWU that the country's bilateral ties with Australia would fast-track the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government, particularly in areas of solid mineral development, oil and gas, agriculture, trade and investment. He gave graphic account of the 10-day gathering of the commonwealth leaders. Excerpts: As a member of President Goodluck Jonathan's delegation to the just concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) in Australia what lessons did you learn' It was a very exciting and rewarding experience. As you are aware, the CHOGM was held at Perth Australia from Sunday 23rd October to Monday 31st October 2011. As the Assembly of Heads of Government of Commonwealth nations, a lot of issues were discussed at various levels, especially topical issues, on global, regional and states dimensions.The Nigerian delegation under the able leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan made significant impact on all aspects of the conference, an effort that made it possible for the nation to make a headway on the road map towards actualizing the Federal Government's transformation agenda. President Goodluck Jonathan made very good use of the opportunity offered by the Commonwealth conference to re-affirm and consolidate the existing bilateral economic co-operation between Nigeria and Australia ; while at the same time ratified new mutually beneficial economic agreements between the two countries. Remember that prior to the 2011 Commonwealth Meeting, Nigeria has been Australia 's 2nd largest trading partner in Africa . This Status and the visible economic gains recorded over the years between the two nations informed the renewed commitment to widen the scope of bilateral co-operation, resulting in the new trade and economic agreements. Give details of the new trade and economic co-operation between Nigeria and Australia' The climax of the meeting was the historic event of Wednesday 27th October 2011 when President Goodluck Jonathan, who led the Nigerian delegation and his Australian counterpart, Her Excellency, Julia Gillard, who headed her country's delegation jointly ratified the establishment of ' Australia ' Nigeria Trade and Investment Council'The council is mandated by the new agreement to identify and develop new business opportunities between the two countries. President Jonathan and the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard jointly noted that Nigeria is a strong growing emerging market and is Australia 's second largest trading partner on the continent of Africa. So far, six Australian Mining Companies are already actively engaged in Nigeria , in addition to the Macquarie Bank, which is already operating in the country. Most importantly, the joint council will focus initially on collaboration between Nigeria and Australia in the critical economic sectors of energy, mining, agriculture and financial services. And with the private sector backing, the council will establish functional secretariats in Perth Australia and Lagos, Nigeria.Solid minerals, oil and gas and agricultural development were the key issues and sectors President Goodluck Jonathan focused on during his various interactions with Australia 's business and economic communities. As the key areas he is determined to make impact, he extended invitation to experts and investors to visit Nigeria to explore the vast potential resources available. Dr. Jonathan was very passionate about his desire to involve Australian investors in areas of infrastructure and development, particularly the agricultural sector. He affirmed at the various fora that Nigeria has abundant agricultural land, which the Federal Government is very ready to collaborate with Australia to explore in order to achieve the nation's quest for food security. Apart from foreign investment in the agricultural sector, what other sector is the Federal Government focusing on to achieve the desired result' President Jonathan was very conscious of that aspect at the meeting. He informed the forum of Australian investors that about 70 per cent of Nigeria 's population are youths. He emphasized the determination of the Federal Government to provide the institutional support for the teeming youth and other groups of able-bodied but unemployed persons to be gainfully engaged in the agricultural sector to boost food production. I remember that President Jonathan was very forthright when he stated emphatically at one of the meetings that Nigeria is yearning for employment opportunities, through foreign and local investments to engage the youths in productive activities, pointing out the fact and reality that if we do not engage the youth, they would end up engaging the leadership. That was how the President analyzed the situation. Another good news is the resolve of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Jonathan to create a conducive enabling environment for the prospective investors to facilitate their contribution to the development of the key sectors of the nation's economy through proactive policy of diversification. We have to diversify to other equally profitable sectors of the economy to reduce over dependence on oil to enable us attain optimum economic prosperity. Besides trade and economic issues, what other areas did the bilateral cooperation focus on' Yes, there were other equally important issues that the two leaders made visible progress at the meeting. For example, at a Global Polio Eradication Initiative held as part of the Commonwealth meeting, President Jonathan made a pledge that Nigeria would spend about N9 billion, that is about $60 million towards the complete eradication of Polio in Nigeria within 24 months. This issue was a re-affirmation of the earlier pledge the President made to the visiting Bill Gates Foundation in Abuja shortly before the Commonwealth meeting. Also, the Australian Prime Minister and the new Chairperson of the Commonwealth, Ms. Julia Gilliard, who presided over the meeting pledged that her government would also provide another sum of $50 million to the global Polio Eradication effort, just as the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameroon announced that Britain would donate additional 40 million towards polio eradication.From my explanation, you will appreciate the remarkable successes recorded by Nigeria under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan at the just-concluded Commonwealth meeting. The position taken by Dr. Jonathan in wooing world leaders and governments at the meeting to contribute to the eradication of polio has paid off. This is even more evident when you consider the fact that Nigeria is a focal point in polio cases over the years. The efforts of Mr. President at the Commonwealth has certainly given the nation the leverage to wipe out the disease completely from Nigeria.What were the highpoints of the activities of President Jonathan and the Nigerian delegation at the CHOGM'From the onset, the President had audience with the Premier of Western Australia, Hon. Colin Barnet, during which they held bilateral talks. Also, the Vice President of India, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, and his Malaysia counterpart, Najib Razak, also held a meeting with a cross section of the Nigerian community in Australia, met with Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Catherine Ashton, the commonwealth summit proper and the fora for the various bilateral talks held with various leaders, groups and organizations. How would you rate the status of Nigeria in the comity of the Commonwealth of Nations , considering your first-hand experience at the gathering of that August meeting of leaders' From every way you look at it, there is no doubt that Nigeria is a very influential and front line member of the Commonwealth. I realized that the dignity and commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan further increased the prestige of Nigeria at this 2011 Commonwealth meeting. The quality of the delegation itself is another distinctive feature of the manifest leadership position of Nigeria , not only in Africa , but at the highest level of global political terrain.
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